My family makes around $20,000 and has no assets. Not instate, since I don’t have residency in anywhere. According to the NPC, our price would be $8500 per year, which is surprisingly affordable. Is this too good to be true, or is the calculator accurate?
It’s very possible…as long as you entered your information accurately.
You say you don’t have residency anywhere? Why is this? If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad, this could be accurate.
If you are an international student, this most definitely is NOT accurate as U of Michigan provides very very limited aid to international students.
@billcsho anything to clarify or add?
@thumper1
Yes, I am a US citizen, but have lived my entire life outside the US. My parent is not a US citizen.
If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad, this could be accurate.
But I will add…if your parent earns $20,000 a year…can they really afford to give you almost half of that for your college education each of four years?
Also, I’m not sure if the Michigan cost of attendance includes their health insurance plan…but if it doesn’t, you likely will need to add that to your costs.
@thumper1
I was just thinking about that. I don’t think UMichigan is realizstic anymore. Back to the drawing board.
I’m in the process of finding more affordable, yet less selective, colleges for my college list. Since within a year that $20,000 will drop to $6000 due to divorce, I’m stuck looking only at those elite meet-full-need-without-loans colleges. My list obviously has no safeties, but I was hoping to at least find some affordable matches.
I want to major in engineering, which cuts out most of the generous LACs (notable exception being Lafayette, which is currently the least selective college on my list).
What is your SAT or ACT score? And your GPA?
Have you looked at the affordability of colleges in the country where you currently live?
Also…you say your parents are getting divorced? When? The martial status on the financial aid forms is as of the date of filing. If your parents are separated/divorced on the day you file your FAFSA, and Profile, you would only include the info from your custodial parent on those forms.
HOWEVER…keep in mind that even when your parents divorce, many…MANY of those selective colleges you are talking now about (Michigan included) will require the non-custodial parent Profile.
I think you need to also look at less selective schools where you might garner significant merit aid (this would depend on your stats…). If you got a full tuition merit scholarship, for example, it’s possible that the full Pell $6000 plus the $5500 Direct Loan would come close to covering room/board.
@thumper1
This is my stepfather I’m talking about. I will ask for a CSS Noncustodial Parent Waiver, since I have no contact with my biological father.
They will be married as of FAFSA filing, but will divorce shortly after that.
I have a 30 ACT and 1390 SAT, with 3.98 UW GPA. With the work I’m putting in over the summer, my SAT should be at least a 1480. I’m mainly hoping that URM, low-income status, as well as the unusual situation of having lived in several countries and having no geographic or national home (global outlook), will be enough of a hook.
I am also a Questbridge Prepscholar and will likely be a Finalist (applying to 12 colleges via National College Match and, should I not match, will continue to Questbridge RD).
@blossom
I have no intention to study in Kenya.
@thumper1
I have been looking at less selective colleges that give merit aid. Unfortunately, virtually none of them give enough aid to be affordable.
When are they getting divorced? The 2019-2020 FAFSA and Profile become available on October 1, but that doesn’t mean you have to file it on October 1.
@happymomof1 could you put that group that helps students abroad here?
@twoinanddone any suggestions for this student…perhaps in the northern plains states?
@WayOutWestMom would University of New Mexico be affordable with scholarships plus full Pell and $5500 in federally funded loans?
@thumper1
I don’t know the exact date, but I’m quite certain after the FAFSA is due.
I’ll see if there is a place where I can explain the situation.
If the mother/stepfather are separated but not legally divorced as of the date of filing, the mother would still have the status of single or separated as of the date of filing, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
I do think other engineering schools such as South Dakota Mines or NM State would be better targets than the Ivies or elite schools just because they cover need. The scores are just not high enough to get admission to Ivies. The Questbridge route is good. Wanting to not only go to a full meets need school, but also one without loans, may eliminate every school where admission is likely.
@twoinanddone
While my scores are low now, I do expect them to increase considerably. I’m not only aiming for the Ivies. Rice, Lafayette, WUSTL and Tufts are some of the other schools on my list.
You list is way too top heavy. All of those schools are highly competitive. All of them.
Listen to @twoinanddone . You have good potential to find schools she lists as affordable. And engineering at an ABET accredited affordable school should be your goal.
Even those schools that meet full need…at many a student contribution is required. A job or student loan can cover those when required at some places.
You have significant financial constraints…so you need to cast a much wider net than a bunch of very very competitive schools for admissions.
The FAFSA and Profile due dates vary from college to college…but your story isn’t making sense. You said “parents were divorcing very soon after the due date”…as noted by @twoinanddone if they are separated with the intention of divorce, your mom would be able to use the separated/divorced marital status on your FAFSA and Profile forms anyway.
However, get your documentation of their separation lined up. You will likely be selected for verification, and the colleges will want some form of documentation that your parent/stepparent are indeed separated.
If you are applying for 2019-2020, you would use 2017 income and taxes information. But if your parents are separated or divorced…only your custodial parent would be listed.
You do have a complicating factor…your mom is divorcing your step dad. Once separated or divorced, your step dad info will never be required on the FAFSA (or Profile). BUT you will need to request a non-custodial parent waiver for your bio dad for schools requiring the non-custodial parent Profile. This is not a guarantee…and you will absolutely need to provide significant documentation to the schools about your bio dad, and why he should be NOT asked to complete this form.
@thumper1
I looked at the NPCs of both SD Mines and NM State; neither is affordable even with merit aid.
I think I’ll stick to my all reach/some match list. We’ve had QB people with stats similar or even lower than mine attend schools on my list. I will keep looking for a school that’s both affordable and close to being a safety.
I will look into the FAFSA separation/divorce details. Thank you, I wasn’t aware of that.
Hopefully, a counselor note confirming that I have no contact with my biological father will be sufficient.
How is it that you could afford $8500 at Michigan (original post) but not at SD or NM?
I hope your SAT score goes up, but even if you got a perfect 1600, there is no guarantee that you’ll be admitted to schools like Tufts and Rice. It’s likely you’d still be expected to pay for your own transportation and often schools have a student contribution of $3000 or so. Even football players getting a ‘full ride’ have to pay for their own transportation and incidentals (recently there has been a stipend offered at some schools).
For potential safeties, you may want to check if any of the schools on this list still have automatic full ride merit scholarships for your stats, and have the major(s) you are interested in (verify on the school web sites):
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21089443/#Comment_21089443
Examples with engineering majors:
Tuskegee (3.5 GPA, 1390 SAT or 30 ACT) https://www.tuskegee.edu/programs-courses/scholarships/freshman-scholarships
Prairie View A&M (3.5 GPA, 1260 SAT or 26 ACT) http://www.pvamu.edu/faid/home/types-of-aid/scholarships/university-scholarships/